News and information about the divestment movement within the Unitarian Universalist denomination.

Good News!

Good news! The Fossil Fuel Divestment Resolution will be put on the agenda
for General Assembly.

We had thought there might be a congregational poll to determine if the
majority of congregations voting wanted it on the agenda, but the Board of
Trustees decided that it was not necessary.

It’s now time to begin our campaign to pass the resolution. I believe that
with adequate education, the resolution will pass overwhelmingly, just as
the Action of Immediate Witness did last year. Given my experience last
year, I can predict some frequent objections from those who are
inadequately informed about the resolution.

– But I want shareholder activism; we have to stay engaged! (Answer: The
Resolution allows for it).
– But I want returns on our congregation’s endowment to be maximized!
(Answer: Talk about stranded assets/carbon bubble)
– I think this is something government should do. (Answer: Agreed.
But government is too dysfunctional presently, and we’ve got to get the
action going. In addition, our legislators have mostly all been bought out
by Big Oil or Big Coal.)

Who will be on a campaign steering committee for our resolution? Who are
the good strategists among us? Who is familiar with a lot of UUA
publications or ways to reach UUs, especially those who are likely to
attend GA in Providence? Who is in a position to have an open discussion
with a board member or members, i.e., someone known to a person or people
on the board either personally or by reputation?

Please volunteer (nominate yourself) or nominate someone else, after having
checked with them that they’re willing to serve. I expect our work could
be intense for the next few months. I’d set up a new Yahoo group for the
steering committee, and we’d probably have frequent conference calls to see
check in.

Let’s get busy getting the word out about why our resolution is good and
worth voting for.